Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 88: Off to the Races

“Oh, Rufus, darling… When you said it was an emergency, you weren’t exaggerating, were you?!”

The greeting was made within mere seconds of Reno lowering his hood once they were safely inside the doors of the upscale salon, and the far-more-orange-than-redhead was all but tackled by pair of… well, he supposed they were assistants of some kind… who bodily dragged him off into the salon proper and sat him down in a chair.

“Who did this to you, you poor little thing?” the man – Gerard, he could only assume – continued, not waiting for a response from the Shinra heir. He was tall and slender, with black hair that fell just below chin-length, ending in a sharp, perfectly straight line. It shimmered with the faintest hint of royal purple… except for the very ends, which were a brilliant white. He was tastefully dressed in what the Turk vaguely recognized as one of the more recent fashion trends of the city – a long sleeved black silk shirt with loose cuffs and a sort of plaid waistcoat over top, and black pants tight enough that Reno honestly kind of wondered if he was capable of sitting down in them.

“I… uh… kinda did it to myself…” he admitted.

“Ugh! An amateur job…” he dramatically sighed, vigorously fanning himself, “When will people learn to leave things like this to the professionals? You can’t simply dye red hair blonde, honey. It’s just too much color to conceal.”

Reno rolled his eyes slightly, gazing at the stylist through the mirror in front of him. “Look… I already know it was stupid. Can ya fix it?”

“Hmm…” Gerard hummed, running his fingers through the Turk’s hair. “Well… I don’t think we have much hope of simply undoing this nightmare. Not without making an even bigger mess. But… we can certainly tone it down, and then recolor to something closer to your natural shade. Though I may have to go a bit darker to completely cover it…” He gently drummed his fingers on Reno’s scalp. “Or I can bleach you, and we can make you a blonde the proper way… but that will take significantly longer, and we’ll definitely need to do your eyebrows, too, or you’ll just look ridiculous. Up to you, sweetie…”

“Just return him to normal. Or whatever passes for ‘normal’ with this idiot, at any rate. Trying to turn him into my pseudo-twin was the result of one of my Father’s more moronic ideas to begin with. I want no part of it,” Rufus opined from where he’d taken a seat on the long leather sectional that took up most of the back wall.

“Oh! Good… I adore redheads. I’m jealous of them in such a delicious way,” Gerard happily agreed, clapping his hands together in delight. He snapped his fingers and the assistants immediately reappeared on either side of the Turk. “Shampoo him, brush him out, and bring him back to me. Get as much of that convenience store garbage out of his hair as you can.”

Just as quickly as he’d been placed in the chair, Reno found himself whisked away to another section of the salon without another word.

Rufus crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in the plush seating area. Gerard made his way over to him.

“Well, now… this is by far the most interesting thing you’ve ever come to me with. Who is he? New boyfriend?”

The vice president rolled his eyes. “No,” he said, flatly, and the stylist smiled.

“Oh, good… then you’re still single.”

“And still not inclined towards men, Gerard,” he replied with a smirk.

“Is he?” the stylist teasingly asked, “He’s cute.”

“You’d have to ask him,” Rufus answered dismissively, “I don’t pry quite that deeply into my employees’ sex lives. Particularly that employee, as I’m relatively certain he’d tell me far more than I really want to know…” He paused for a moment, noting the distinct look of unbridled interest in the other man’s eyes, and then added. “He is, however, responsible several times over for the fact that I’m still alive. Treat him as such.”

“Oh, my darling… you know I always give my clients the VIP treatment,” Gerard said with a laugh.

---

It was nearly one in the afternoon, Tseng noted, looking up from the slowly dwindling pile of paperwork. Normally, that meant nothing more than the fact that it was long past time he took a break for lunch. Today, however, it also meant that Rufus and Reno had been gone for almost four hours.

And hadn’t called in.

Where in the Nine Hells were they? It was unusual for any of Rufus’ meetings to go on so long. The younger Shinra was the exact opposite of his father when it came to such things. Where the president liked to linger and socialize, Rufus preferred to be as efficient as possible and maximize the use of his day. Even when he did opt to spend a little while networking once his business had been concluded, it seldom went on longer than it took to finish a round of drinks.

Frowning he reached for his phone, but paused just before he dialed. Just because Reno hadn’t called him, didn’t necessarily mean he hadn’t checked in. The younger Turk knew exactly how busy he was this week, and might have opted to contact someone else rather than disturb him. And for that matter, he’d been sequestered long enough that he may have simply missed his protege’s return. That thought in mind, he got up from his desk, not in the least bit upset to leave behind the audit paperwork for a few minutes, and made his way down the hall to Reno’s office.

It was empty. Tseng then changed course, heading for the lounge. He heard the voices before he had even fully rounded the corner.

“Wow… Reno, you look great!” Petra’s voice stated, and the Turk lieutenant paused, more than a little confused by the declaration. “Great” really wasn’t how anyone in their right mind would have described the young Turk’s current day-glow appearance.

“Yeah,” Liam added, “Who did it?”

Tseng crossed the remaining distance to the lounge quickly and stepped inside… stopping short when he saw his protege.

His long hair had been returned to a more normal red color… but rather than the bright, vibrant red Tseng was used to seeing, this was a slightly more muted, almost burgundy shade, with lighter highlights mixed in. Rather than being pulled back into its usual pony tail, the majority of his hair lay lose, hanging down his back, while the sides had been drawn up and back, and secured in place with an elastic to keep it out of his face.

“Reno?” Tseng queried, and the occupants of the room turned towards him. The now-red-again-redhead grinned widely.

“Whaddya think, Boss?” he asked, “Not sure I really like the darker color so much, but… I’ll take this over orange any day.”

“You look quite distinguished… but how did you manage it?”

“Rufus. He said he didn’t want to be seen in public with me lookin’ like that, so he basically just dragged me off to some guy named Gerard to get it fixed,” Reno replied with a slight shrug.

“Well… that’s a relief,” Tseng chuckled, “And just how is Gerard? I haven’t seen him in awhile.”

The redhead blinked. “You know ‘im?”

“Mmm… for quite some time. I’m actually a little shocked he had the time to work you into his schedule… even as a favor to Rufus. Gerard is quite a high-end stylist, and very popular. Last I heard, he’s usually booked solid for weeks, if not months, in advance.”

“Wait… you’re not talking about Gerard deGauss, are you?” Liam cut in, eyes widening, “Not the Gerard deGauss?”

“… Yes?” Tseng replied, caught off guard slightly by the unexpected recognition. Liam groaned, turning his attention on Reno.

“You got an appointment with the most popular stylist in Midgar?” he asked in disbelief.

“Uhh… I guess?” the redhead responded, sounding slightly mystified as to what all the hype was about.

“… I’ve been on his waiting list for over a year…” the rookie grumbled. Reno snickered softly.

“Okay… what’s the big deal with this guy? I mean… I can’t exactly say he doesn’t do good work, but come on… It’s hair. You’re seriously tellin’ me people actually line up for that kinda thing?”

Liam sighed and shook his head. “You really have no concept of trendsetting, do you, sir…?”

Petra giggled quietly and patted her friend on the shoulder.

“Liam? Hurry up… We’re waiting for you!” Remy suddenly interjected, in a very cross-sounding voice from out in the hallway. The rookie yelped a hurried apology and scurried off, Tseng assumed, to join his fellow rookies for their afternoon training sessions.

“… Since when’s he into trendsetting or whatever?” Reno asked. Tseng raised an eyebrow.

“I would have thought the purple streaked hair and piercings were a dead giveaway… Not to mention his off-duty wardrobe.”

“Yeah, Reno… Liam’s always been a little bit of a fashionista,” she laughed, “I mean… not to the extent that that’s all he thinks about, but he definitely likes to look put together and trendy.”

The redhead shrugged again. “He’s never mentioned any of that kinda stuff to me.”

Tseng snorted softly and placed an arm around his protege’s shoulder, guiding him back towards the hallway. “That’s… likely because, when you’re not on duty, you generally look like you dress by throwing yourself bodily into your collection of t-shirts and blue jeans and hoping for the best,” he pointed out.

---

“So… tell me somethin’,” Reno said, gazing out of the passenger side window of Tseng’s car as they made their way over to the Sector 8 housing district. “How’s Rufus know that Gerard guy, anyway? Definitely seemed like they knew each other on more than just a professional level, the way they talked to each other…”

Tseng took a left at the next light and changed lanes.

“They’ve been friends for years,” he replied, “He went to school with Rufus, in fact.”

Reno pulled his gaze away from the falling snow and looked over at Tseng.

“Seriously? I woulda figured Rufus went to some fancy private school for rich people’s kids…” he commented.

“He did. The most exclusive one his parents could find,” the senior Turk replied, “Gerard comes from quite a wealthy family as well. In fact, he could probably close up shop tomorrow and never work again… and still live the lifestyle he’s accustomed to for the rest of his life.”

Reno raised an eyebrow. “And he’s workin’ in the service industry?”

Tseng chuckled. “I… think that’s actually why he and Rufus got to be friends. Gerard, from what I know of him, has never been one to do what is expected of him. He does what he wants to do… much to his family’s chagrin, as I understand it, but he’s never let that bother him. I think Rufus rather admires that about him, given that he’s always been just the opposite.”

“Huh… Yeah, I guess can see that,” Reno commented. He grinned slightly. “Think Esme’ll like the new ‘do?”

The senior Turk smiled, more to himself than at Reno.

“I suspect Esme will approve… particularly since she now no longer bares the burden of being our only hope of fixing my mistake. Though to be honest, it’s Felicia’s reaction I’m most looking forward to,” he teased. The redhead groaned faintly.

“Doesn’t she have boyfriend yet?” he sighed, and Tseng couldn’t help but laugh.

“I afraid she’s still rather pining after you, if my last visit with her was any indication. She seemed very invested in whether or not you’d be attending the Christmas party this year,” he reported.

“Ya know… sometimes bein’ irresistible has its drawbacks…” Reno snickered, “I mean… don’t get me wrong, I love Felicia. She’s an awesome kid. But she’s… ya know… a kid. And I’m kinda… not, anymore. People are gonna start thinkin’ I’m some kinda creep…”

Tseng smirked as he pulled into a parking lot and found a space just outside of Veld’s condo, but didn’t comment. The pair exited the vehicle and made their way up the recently shoveled walkway that led to the front door, and knocked.

“I’ll get it, Mom!” a muffled voice called out from inside, and a few seconds later, the door opened wide. Felicia smiled as she looked up at the senior Turk. “Hi, Tseng.” Her gaze almost immediately shifted to the figure standing just to his left, and the teenager’s jaw dropped. “H-hi, Reno…” she stammered.

“Hey,” the redhead answered, grinning.

“May we come in?” Tseng prompted after several seconds of stunned silence. Felicia nodded mutely, stepping back and granting them access.

“Felicia?” Esme called out from the kitchen, “It that Tseng and Reno?”

The young girl quickly retreated towards her mother’s summons, and Tseng snorted a soft laugh. Reno, meanwhile, just shook his head.

“Ya know… I think that’s the same way she reacted the first time she met me…”

Tseng quietly laughed and took his coat off, hanging it on the coat rack near the door, and holding a hand out for Reno to hand him his as well. The redhead shrugged out of the garment and passed it over.

“Ah, there you two are…” Veld said, walking out into the living room. “What took you so long getting here?”

“We had a stop to make on the way. Esme requested wine to go with dinner,” Tseng replied, handing over the bottle he’d brought.

“And it was so nice of you to oblige,” the aforementioned lady of the house stated as she strode out of her kitchen. She smiled as she took the bottle from her husband. “Perfect!” She pressed it back into his hands and shooed him off. “Go and put that on the table…”

She then turned her full and undivided attention on Reno, slowly circling him. As she completed the circuit, she reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair back behind his ear and smiled.

“Well… don’t you you look handsome…” she commented, with a soft laugh.

“Heh… yeah, now maybe. Be glad ya didn’t see me earlier, Esme… It was pretty bad,” he snickered in reply.

“I think I rather like this new look. You look very grown up with your hair down like that. You know, I’ve long been saying that Tseng he should wear his like that, too, but he’s such a creature of habit.”

“I am simply being practical,” Tseng replied. “Perhaps some people can put up with hair constantly in their face all day, but personally, I think it would become very annoying very quickly…”

Reno grinned. “Yeah, mine’s goin’ back into a ponytail tomorrow. I don’t think I could deal with it, either… ‘specially in the training hall.”

Esme gave a long-suffering sigh and threw her hands up in defeat. “Well… I tried. Come on, then. Come in and make yourselves comfortable. Dinner’s almost ready. Felicia? Have you finished setting the table?”

“Yes!” came the distant reply, and it was shortly followed by the sound of adolescent footsteps darting up the stairs. Esme’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Now where’s she off to?” she huffed, “That girl. I swear, she never sits down for a single moment anymore. Always has something to do or someone she just has to talk to on the phone.” She shook her head and then tuned back to the pair of Turks. “Of course, I could say the same for you two…” she added, waving them towards the seating in the living room, “Sit, sit, sit…”

“They’re not dogs, dear,” Veld teased, returning from the dining room. He kissed her on the cheek as he slipped past.

Reno snickered, but obligingly sank down onto the couch, while Tseng opted for one of the two arm chairs.

“Oh, you…” Esme chastised her husband, though she was undeniably smiling, “I have half a mind ban you from dessert for that comment…”

With that, she disappeared back into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner, leaving the three Turks on their own. Veld looked over at Tseng.

“You’re prepared for tomorrow, I hope…”

“Yes, sir. I’ve had a bag packed all week, and Reno was able to find me transport south to Ferryport.”

“Good,” Veld replied, “But that’s not what I meant. You know she might not be willing to return. Not even for you. I just want you to be prepared for that eventuality.”

Tseng sighed. “Yes, sir… I know. And if that is ultimately her choice, I’ll accept it, but it’s not going to stop me from making my best case for her to reconsider.”

“Come on, Boss… No way she’ll say no to you. This is Kai we’re talkin’ about,” Reno piped up, but his mentor shook his head.

“I know that’s what you want to believe. It is, I think, what we all would like to believe… but as you said, this is, indeed, Kai we’re talking about. If she really is committed to this course of action, then nothing I say will make a difference. I’m banking entirely on her commitment to an early retirement being less than one hundred percent. This isn’t some spur of the moment decision. She’s been thinking this over for months now.”

Veld nodded in agreement. “I’d hate to lose a Turk like this… but, you can’t argue that she has a good reason for it. Kai has, perhaps, seen more loss in her life than any of us. I don’t blame her for a moment for not wanting to see more.”

The three of them fell silent for several moments, no one really willing to argue that point. Eventually, however, the silence was broken by Esme’s voice calling out that dinner was ready.

“Well… no use speculating on it any farther tonight. We’ll have an answer one way of the other soon enough,” Veld declared, getting to his feet.

Esme greeted them, tapping a large wooden spoon against the heel of her hand in what could only be described as sheer annoyance.

“I heard work talk…” she said, accusingly, and Reno couldn’t help but snicker softly.

“I… think you’re in trouble, sir…” the redhead, unnecessarily, pointed out. It was a well known rule in the Crimea household that there were to be no work-related discussions unless it was an emergency, and thus unavoidable.

He and Tseng edged around the woman and slid into their seats at the table. Reno, not so unexpectedly, found himself seated next to Felicia… who, apparently, had gone upstairs to change in the interim, as she was now decked out in a dark red sweater and a black skirt. Her hair had been pulled into a hasty up-do, and she’d put on several nicer pieces of jewelry. As Reno sat down, she did her best to stare at him without actually staring at him.

The redhead mentally groaned. He was no stranger to being checked out… but it was a little off-putting when the person doing the checking out was still in high school. Even moreso when said person was your boss’ boss’ teenage daughter, and you had a rough idea of how many weapons her father kept on hand…

“I think we’re all in trouble,” Veld replied, holding his hands up placatingly. He sighed. “I’m doing the dishes tonight, aren’t I?”

Felicia giggled softly, but Esme just rolled her eyes.

“Yes. You are. Sit down and eat,” she finally said, chuckling faintly.

---

The following morning found Reno aboard the executive helicopter as it winged its way towards the northern continent. It had been a clear, but cold, morning in Midgar… but as they made their way farther north, the skies grew overcast. Surprising, as the forecast had called for fair weather for the beginning of the Great Glacier Relay… or at least it had last night when the redhead had checked it before going to bed. Now, though, it looked like something was brewing a bit to the east of their destination, and Reno made a mental note to make sure that their transport was covered once they landed to prevent anything from icing over.

After all… the President was already moderately annoyed that his last minute request for body doubles had gone unfulfilled. Reno really didn’t want to end up in the position of having to explain that their return trip would have to be delayed due to mechanical issues. And since he was the ranking member of the team on this trip, if it happened, it would fall to him to do just that.

Speaking of the executives… The President seemed to have drifted off in the comfort of the aircraft. He was snoring softly in his seat. Rufus, meanwhile, had been thoroughly engrossed in a book for most of the trip thus far, but once the shore of the northern continent came into sight, he tucked a bookmark between the pages and set the tome aside, turning his gaze out the window. Reno, out of curiosity, did the same.

The helicopter reached the edge of the landmass just moments later, and from their great height, the redhead had little difficulty picking out the cluster of buildings that made up Icicle Inn. The place was packed. He’d seen the resort town busy before… but not like this. It was practically overrun with people crowding along the sidelines of what he guessed was the starting line fore the race. Beyond the crowds, he could see the sled teams, as well, preparing for the first of three legs of a four day race across the entirety of the glacier and back again.

Just as the name implied, this was a relay race. These drivers would meet their teammates almost a full twelve hours journey from here, who would take over for the second leg of the race, and so on until they made it all the way across… and then they would repeat the process to end up right back where they started four days from now. From what Reno had heard about it, the race itself was absolutely grueling… and only the very best chocobo sled drivers dared to enter their teams.

It definitely wasn’t something he’d ever consider doing himself… but, to each their own, he supposed. The prize for crossing the finish line first, after all, was five hundred thousand gil. Not exactly chump change.

“Hey Sykes,” he asked, prodding the younger Turk with his elbow, “You ever thought about runnin’ this nightmare of a race?”

Sykes grinned. “Oh, sure! Everyone back home at least thinks about it.”

“So why’d you opt for the Turks as a career ‘n not glacier racing legend?” the redhead said with a slight laugh.

“I said everyone thinks about it. I didn’t say we’re all was insane enough to actually do it,” Sykes chuckled, “The Relay is brutal.”

Reno snickered and leaned back in his seat.

“So… looks like we’re almost there,” he said, addressing all three of his subordinates, who obligingly gave him their full attention. “Rude… soon as we land, give the pilots a hand gettin’ the copter protected from the cold. I don’t know ’bout you guys, but I don’t really wanna be stuck up here, waitin’ on shit to thaw so we can take off.”

“Hmph… Ditto,” Rude agreed.

“Sykes… I’m sending you on ahead to secure the lodge. Me ‘n Petra’ll follow with the execs soon as you give us the all clear.”

“Yes, sir,” Sykes, replied with a nod.

“After that… we’re in a holding pattern ’til race time. Rufus’ll probably just wanna stay put at the lodge, but President Shinra might decide to do a little sight seein’… which means we’ll be on call for active escort duty. Petra… you’re the primary for the VP. Stick to him like glue ‘n try ‘n keep him outta trouble. I got the President. Rude and Sykes… you’re on general sentry duty. Icicle Inn’s rated low-threat… but there’s a shit ton of people here. Just keep an eye on the crowd.”

“Can do,” Sykes replied, and Rude nodded his assent.

“You… want me with Rufus?” Petra said, sounding a little surprised. Reno grinned and gave a small shrug.

“You survived your first solo assignment with him. Figured you wouldn’t mind doin’ round two… ‘specially since I kinda gotta stick with the Pres, bein’ field commander ‘n all.”

“Yes, sir!” she replied, enthusiastically.

Reno glanced down at his watch just as the helicopter began its descent towards a small landing area that had been cleared for them.

“Race starts in… three hours. So, that means between now ‘n then we got three hours to make sure everything’s secure and this goes off without a hitch.”

Rude snickered quietly from where he’d perched himself on the armrest of Reno’s seat. The redhead glanced up at him.

“And if you start in with that bullcrap about how I ‘almost sound like a leader’, I’m gonna make damn sure you get all the shit jobs from here on out, Partner,” the younger Turk quickly added. Rude grinned.

“Understood… sir,” he teasingly replied.

~end chapter 88~